Panic Stricken Flicker
by DobbyRocksSocks
Summary: It was an accident, but Teddy can't help but feel guilty.


**Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.**

 **Written for Hogwarts Assignment 3, Criminology Task 1 -** Write about someone starting a fire.

 **Other Challenges listed at the bottom.**

 _Beta'd by Grandma Lizzy_

 **Word Count** \- 1730

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 **Panic Stricken Flicker**

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The flame from the candle was hypnotising. Teddy watched it flicker and dance in the darkness of the room. He'd woken up from a nightmare, a regular occurrence of late. He was just so tired, but he didn't know how to stop the nightmares.

He wasn't even sure what was real and what wasn't when he thought back on them. His parents always started happy in his dreams, his mother singing him a half forgotten lullaby that Teddy only ever recalled when he was fast asleep. His father would watch over them silently from the side.

It was peaceful, and Teddy's favourite kind of dream. Lately though, they'd been morphing into something darker. Teddy would be forced to watch blood pour from his mother's eyes and mouth and nose. He felt real fear as his father screamed out, before his body changed to that of a wolf, the full moon appearing from nowhere to push upon him the change.

Even now, just thinking about it set Teddy's heart racing. The shadows in his room looked far more menacing than they had before, and it felt as though tight arms were squeezing at his chest, forcing the air from his lungs.

Teddy could feel pressure building up inside him, and he sat up in his bed, thinking that if he could just get to his grandma, she'd be able to chase away the shadows that were trying to pull him under.

The panic told him he'd never make it. Teddy flailed in his sheets, getting tangled up. His panic increased.

The candle flame flickered as Teddy's magic flared out in an attempt to protect him. Teddy watched in horror as the flame grew bigger, catching on the drapes hanging down beside it. It took seconds to catch fire, and it was alight by the time Teddy fought his way from inside the sheets.

His panic seemed to be making the fire spread quicker, a flame turning to a blaze in an instant, and Teddy knew he couldn't stop this, he couldn't fix it. The heat was already beginning to saturate the room, and Teddy tripped and stumbled to the door, pulling it open.

The light from the fire didn't help in the hallway, but Teddy had grown up in this house and he quickly found his way to his grandma's room.

He could still hear the crackles and pops of the fire even as he shook her violently, calling her name in increasing volume.

"Teddy? Teddy, what is it?"

"Fire, Grandma," Teddy gasped out. "We need to leave!"

Andromeda moved as fast as she could, which in honesty wasn't very fast because she'd been getting increasingly sick over the past few months.

Teddy's guilt ramped up as his grandma got up from her bed and pushed him behind her, her wand held securely in her hands.

"You listen to me," she murmured urgently. "You go downstairs, and you floo to your Uncle Harry. I'll come and get you when it's safe."

Teddy shook his head, clutching at her cherry blossom nightdress. "I'm not leaving you!" he replied, horrified by the very idea.

This was _his_ fault, there was no way was he going to leave her.

She tried to convince him, but they were losing precious moments to get the fire under control so she gave up quickly, making her way to his room.

Teddy looked on in horror at the damage the fire had already wrought on the room, how far and fast it had spread.

His grandma was already coughing as she tried to fight the flames with water charms, all to no avail.

When she swayed dangerously, her charm faltering, Teddy pulled her from the room, scared at how easy it was. He helped her down the stairs and out through the front door, his magic flaring once more as the door swung open without help, bouncing off the wall.

He released her carefully onto the grass outside, making sure she was okay. He could see the flames through the window upstairs, licking at the glass. Teddy didn't know what to do now.

He darted back into the house, using Grandma's Muggle lighter to start a tiny fire in the grate. It wasn't enough to floo to Harry's but it was enough to get his voice through. He threw the powder onto the little flame, screaming as loud as he could for Harry to come and _help._

It was a little over two minutes when he heard a crack outside, and Harry calling his name. The lounge was full of smoke, pouring down the stairs just outside the door, and also through the cracks in the ceiling. Teddy struggled to find his way back to the door, but suddenly, Harry was there lifting him up and carrying him outside into the blessed fresh air.

More cracks and Aurors were appearing left and right, their robes the same colour as the flames.

Harry put Teddy down beside Andromeda before he hurried over to his colleagues, conferring hurriedly with them.

Teddy watched as they cast spells over themselves before running into the house, but a harsh cough from his grandma took his attention, and he turned to her worriedly.

"Are you okay?" he asked, biting his lip.

She nodded, though she had to pause for another violent fit, and patted his back gently.

"You saved my life, sweetheart. You were so brave."

The guilt that had been sitting low in Teddy's stomach since he managed to fight his way out of his sheets chose that moment to overwhelm him, and he quickly turned his head away from her as tears poured down his cheeks.

He wasn't _brave._ He'd caused this, it was _his fault._

The flames reflected off his glassy eyes, and Teddy bit his lip to stop himself blurting out the truth.

That he wasn't brave, that he'd almost killed his grandmother, and he really didn't deserve the embrace that she was pulling him into.

…

Andromeda was taken to St. Mungo's and Harry took Teddy home with him. He tucked him in, praising him for his bravery, and then left the room.

Teddy stared at the ceiling, wondering how he was supposed to explain that he didn't deserve the praise and love he was receiving.

How could he tell Harry, who's green eyes shone with pride, that it was all his fault? How could he tell his grandma, who was probably laid up in a hospital bed being fed potions for smoke inhalation, that she was there because of him?

Turning his head, Teddy looked out of the window at the stars twinkling brightly in the sky. His grandma had always told him that his parents were in those stars, watching over him.

Teddy grimaced at the idea. If they really were there, he would bet everything that they weren't proud of him anymore, the way people always told him they were.

…

"Harry?"

"What is it, kid?" Harry asked, looking up from the paperwork he'd been working on. Teddy lingered by the doorway to his godfather's office, chewing his lip and scuffing his foot against the floor. "Come on in, it's alright."

Teddy clenched his fists as he sat down in one of the comfortable armchairs in the corner, his fingernails biting against his palms. Harry took the other armchair and sat forward, elbows on his knees.

"You okay?"

Teddy shook his head, because he'd never been more not okay in his life.

"You wanna tell me what's going on?"

Teddy bit his lip hard. Tears filled his eyes and he looked down for a minute.

"I… the fire… it was my fault."

He couldn't look up, couldn't see the shock and disappointment on Harry's face.

"How was it your fault?"

"I had a nightmare," Teddy whispered in a rush, forcing the words out. "And there was a candle, but I was panicking and I got trapped in the sheets and the shadows -"

"Slow down," Harry urged, resting a hand on Teddy's knee. "Did you have a bout of accidental magic?"

Teddy nodded. "The candle flame… it got bigger, and it caught on the drape, and -"

"Then it wasn't your fault," Harry replied firmly.

He tugged Teddy from his seat onto Harry's knee, wrapping his arms around him. Teddy thought to protest, he was ten years old and too old to be sitting on his godfather's knee like a baby, but the comfort was immediate, and Teddy couldn't bring himself to complain.

"Telling me what happened was really brave, Ted, but it wasn't your fault, you hear me? Accidental magic happens, particularly when someone is feeling scared or panicked. You didn't mean to do it, and you got your grandma out of the house and managed to call me for help."

"I'm not brave, Uncle Harry," Teddy whispered, shaking his head. "I was so scared."

"And yet you did all that anyway. That's exactly what bravery is. And hey, nobody was hurt, okay? Your grandma is going to be fine, she'll be back later, and Gin and I are going to head over to your house tomorrow and see what we can do about the damage, okay? Accidental magic happens, Teddy, it's not something to be scared or ashamed of."

"But I could've hurt someone."

"But you didn't. You want to tell me about these nightmares? Talking about it can help, it helps me."

"You have nightmares?"

Harry nodded. "Sure. Everyone has nightmares sometimes, kid. You're not alone. Not ever, okay?"

Teddy nodded, and before he knew it, he was spilling his nightmares out to Harry, how long he'd been having them, all the fear and panic they left him with. Harry listened patiently, and comforted Teddy when it was over, offering him reassurances that, without doubt, his parents would always be proud of him.

When Teddy had relaxed some, Harry nudged him gently. "You know, you're not the only one who's had… excessive accidental magic?"

Teddy felt his curiosity stirring. "Who else?"

"Me," Harry replied with a small smile. "How about we go and raid the freezer for some ice cream, and I tell you all about how I released a deadly snake from a zoo, and changed the colour of my teacher's wig?"

Teddy giggled and nodded. "A deadly snake? Really?"

"Hmm. He wanted to go to Brazil. Come on, ice cream first, stories after."

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 **Written for;**

Disney; Mowgli - Write about a brave child.

Bex's Basement; The BFG - Write about someone being brave.


End file.
